Ollie is an energetic, determined and loveable 13-year old who began developing a bump on his neck in summer 2019. In November 2019 he was diagnosed with Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma ALK Positive. After multiple relapses in his central nervous system, which caused him to go blind, he had a stem cell transplant in July 2020. He is now a long-term survivor with more than 5-years in remission. This blog shares updates on his wellness and his family's advocacy efforts.

The Brave Boy and Therapeutic Clowns at CHEO (plus Mario photobombing)
Tuesday, 14 April 2020
Reasons to get well (by Ollie)
We've been talking daily with Ollie about determination, resilience and survival.
In no particular order these are the reasons Ollie says he wants to get well/things he would miss if he didn't fight and get well:
1. Skateboarding
2. Toys (especially Beyblades and Lego)
3. Baths
4. Food (given he's on steroids, there are few moments where he's not eating or thinking about food right now...LOL)
5. My cats (Minou and Chewbacca)
6. My mom, dad and sister (thought he'd never mention all of us! 7-year old priorities!)
7. My bed (he got a new bunk bed before he got really sick and misses it)
8. Playing with friends (including friends from school)
9. NERF wars
10. Hide and Go Seek
11. My bike
12. Watching my favorite shows
13. Waterparks
14. Family (I.e. Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, etc.)
15. Family friends (I.e. Friends that are more like family)
16. My cousins
17. Campfires and Jiffy Pop (since we bought the fire table for our deck it's been one of his favourite things)
18. Vacations with family
19. Legoland (one of his favourite family trips in December 2018)
20. Playing sports
He also acknowledged that he still doesn't like school, but he misses being there with friends and teachers.
I am certain if he had more attention span other things like music, board games, picnics, barbecues, drives/road trips, going to the movie theatres, knock knock jokes, etc. would have made the list, too.
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You'll be back to doing all these things in no time Ollie! Maybe you can ask mom and dad for a trip to legoland after all this is done ;)
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